Lion's Den(On Hold)

Chapter-34 True Allies

The investigation we held had failed to obtain a very crucial piece of information. Dominic was not only on the side of the government. He sided with the mafia gangs for his personal business development and also had a secretive closed off relationship with the most powerful gang of them. The saying ‘a friend to all is a friend to none’ would totally suit Dominic, he just views everyone as a business partner. That explained why his so called friend, Jonathan would betray him. He doesn't have any real friends. The mere fact that he survived this long in the field is a miracle, his skills are impeccable.

“What you are thinking is absolutely right. Betrayal is an expected outcome for me.”
I must have spaced out too long staring, for him to realize my trail of thoughts.
“Is the side you take bound to change on basis of whoever pays you more?”

He seemed to understand where the conversation was leading to.
“I choose my clients, Ms.Diana. Profits might be a major goal but client background matters too. Although sometimes, I tend to ignore background and go by personal choice too."
I nodded in response. Derek and I had initially assumed that profits were the only thing that mattered to Dominic. My perception of him has widely changed after getting to know him personally. He is very smart in business but doesn’t seem to be worried about getting betrayed and perdures in the same way.

“Old habits die hard don’t they?”
“Sorry?”
“I see the curious and calculative agent by your questions, Ms.Diana. You are observing and investigating like you always do.”
He was spot on about that. I cleared my throat awkwardly because for a moment, I was indulged in the role of an SIO agent. Twinnie and I will miss our life as an agent, it felt like we were born for that. How times changed, never in million years would we have thought of a possibility like this. It was rather foolish of us to assume that we could simply ignore our biological family if they reenter into our lives.

Our heads turned to Eric’s phone ringing. Upon answering, his face turned gelid. His expression turned inscrutable and impenetrable. Any signs of anger had completely vanished. He just gave a quick hum, signing Damian to follow and cut the call. Damian hustled to the door but Eric did not move despite the situation seeming dire. Instead, he turned to me.

“Do you want to come with us?”
I was taken aback by his sudden question. Damian treaded lightly and stood beside me defensively. Eric remained unfazed by our agitation.
“Do you wish to become a part of our mafia?” he rephrased.

Eventhough I had stated that I would give my answer after Derek woke up, he asked this question. I felt impelled to give an answer and couldn’t refuse.
“No” I replied truthfully.
“Really? You and Derek are two individuals capable of making decisions for yourselves. What if Derek woke up and decided to join the mafia? What then?”

Damian may be eccentric but even he visibly hardened as Eric fired those words mercilessly. Eric’s blank stare and unsympathetic bearing could do that to anyone. He broke the image of ‘twinnie and me against the world’ like smashing glass. Even that could change in the future.
“Even then, I will not become a part of the mafia.” I answered.

Joining the mafia would be going against everything that I trusted and believed my entire life. Derek and I always wanted to help people together. We have had our own share of unlawful activities as agents but we also had those fruitful moments when the citizens under our protection have genuinely expressed gratitude for our service in the force. I scrutinized Eric’s face for any signs of disappointment or aggression. A momentary sense of pride flashed in his eyes but turned blank once again, might have mistaken that.

“Then, you are free to leave anytime. I presume you would want to wait until Derek recovers and gives his decision too.”
My entire body froze not knowing if I had heard right. After so many days of evading this topic, he finally agreed to let go? He wasn't going to force us to join the mafia and actually considered our freedom. It was strange, his position as the mafia head and occasional soft tones don't match. The images of Derek getting shot resurfaced in my mind. I averted my eyes and broke any feelings of attachment.

"Thank you"
Receding footsteps were all I heard after that because I did not look back at him. Damian patted my shoulders and exited too. Dominic stayed behind with me in a comfortable silence which I was grateful for. My mind was a mess. My thoughts and feelings clashed like the ocean waves crashing into the rocks.

Derek has every right to be with his biological family as much as I do and I don't wish to be an obstacle. Making myself mentally prepared for any kind of outcomes, I agreed to follow Dominic and see him out. The walk along the corridor to the exit was pretty slow paced with Julian and Mathew shooting daggers at each other. Dominic seemed to remember something and stopped midway.

"I never really had the chance to thank my saviors. Since you are here awake,...Thank you, officer for saving my life."
I half expected him to laugh and make a joke out of it but his tone sounded upfront and real. It brought a smile to my face.
"You're welcome, Mr.Dominic. But be careful next time, we cannot be there every time to save you."
He gave a slight bow and we resumed the walk.

"You seem to have accepted your family."
"There's nothing I can do about it. It's the reality Derek and I need to face regardless."
He hummed slightly.
"You don't trust them either do you?"
My feet halted.
"Could you stop being so snoopy?"
He clearly noticed my annoyance but that did not bother him.

"All these years, there have been several times when I came into contact with the Terranova, the most being in Watford. In all of these meetings, this is the only one where I didn't feel like I was attending a funeral. Your brothers and sister, none of them have the professional attitude. But today was different. It was most amusing to see your two brothers like that, especially Eric. Mark my word, you won't see any of those expressions again. He was way out of character today." he reminisced chuckling.
Eric's anger disappearing in a blink of an eye flashed through my mind.

"You noticed that, right? So you know the reason why they acted that way."
"Okay, that's enough..."
"They would do anything to make it up to you, Ms.Diana. There's nothing they can do about Derek getting shot except being filled with guilt and regret. But they can do something about the bomb Victor Lansky planted." he emphasized.
"What are you implying? Victor Lansky escaped."
"You sure about that?"
A momentary pause ensued. Victor Lansky's whereabouts are unknown currently. Could it be what I think it is?

Dominic gave a 'it's obvious isn't it?' look.
"It's kinda funny. You vouched for them like you are Terranova's bestie."
Dominic grimaced while I grinned.
"No, I am trying to look out for my client. Ms.Diana, don't alienate your family. Who knows, their place might become your safe haven when you face sinister enemies out there. There might even come a time when the truth about the mafia siblings is discovered by the world. So, watch out and use whoever is ready to be your ally, small or big."
I remained thoughtful over his words which seemed to make sense.

"You can count me as your ally too. I look forward to working with you." he beamed extending his hand.
The moment I clasped his hand, he pulled me close and his voice tickled my ear.
"I don't need to teach you Diana, you are the agent. You figure it out. I will keep off the news about you being alive from your colleague for a while so that he doesn't come barging in here. You can explore whatever you want during this time. I am sure you'd be surprised."
Julian aggressively cleared his throat in the background that broke us apart. Dominic silently gestured to which I nodded.
"See you soon, Angel eyes" he whispered and left.

***************************************

Elsewhere, a team in the SIO were scouring through security footage and satellite imaging. Agents were dispatched on the basis of information received and the search continued. The superior stood examining the northern part of Watford's map glowing on the screen with various markings.
"Where are you?" he mumbled ominously.